Forgiveness
by HartToHart
Summary: Zoe wants to forgive Wade so badly...she really does. Post 2x15


**What I want to happen so badly. Post 2x15 and 'the incident'.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hart of Dixie but I wish I could!**

**Please read and review! Xx**

She was sitting on his porch.

_She _was sitting on _his_ porch.

His brain took a few minutes to process the fine detail of this situation as his foot creaked on the stoop, her head snapping up at the noise. He could see the tear tracks on her cheeks. He could see the smudgy mascara around her eyes. He could see how glazed her eyes were. He could see the empty wine bottle on the table. She was hunched over her knees, looking softer and cuter than she usually did in a pale blue flippy little skirt and a tank top that hugged her every curve. Wade mentally slapped himself. He wasn't allowed to think about her like that anymore. He'd lost the right to.

Her eyes were watching his every move, tracing his every thought in her drunken haze. She stumbled as she got slowly to her feet, the world spinning as she staggered towards him. "How could you?" She mumbled, steadying herself on the porch railings as she approached him once more. "How could you do this to me?" She gestured to herself, to her dishevelled appearance and emotional state. "I do _not _cry over stupid pathetic little men." She stomped her foot, well she tried to at least.

Zoe had always been a sloppy drunk. He'd found it cute before but now…now it was just a little tragic. He couldn't say he hadn't been expecting it. He'd been waiting for this moment for a month now. She'd suppressed it, let her anger subside and tried to go about her daily life as though nothing had happened. He knew her weakness though. Cheap white wine was all it took and those secrets and emotions started to tumble out, she let herself become transparent, let it all out when she'd drunk enough. He caught hold of her wrist and tugged her back towards his patio furniture. He didn't trust her to stand up right now, not given how much she was swaying.

"I didn't cry about Zach, I didn't cry about George, I didn't cry about Judson or Jesse or anyone!" She ranted, rounding on him again. "It's just you. It's always you." Zoe yelled; her hands clenching into fists that Wade was sure would have thrown something if it had been within arm's reach. He was a little glad her arms were so short now, given their relative proximity to the wine bottle. He'd put up with a lot of things but being hit over the heat by the wine bottle was not one he wished to repeat in a hurry. Wade remained silent, knowing better than to interrupt her or contradict her. "Men always disappoint you. You can't trust any of them." She said bitterly as she hugged her knees into her chest. "Daddy Issues for Dummies." She hooked her thumb in towards her chest. "I'm a real therapist's dream."

Wade coughed slightly, wondering whether it was his turn now. "Zoe look I'm real sorry about what I did to you. It was stupid and immature and mean and I wish I could take it back, take that whole night back because it was the biggest mistake of my whole damn life, letting you go like that."

Zoe's face flushed with anger as she stood up, pointing her finger roughly into his chest. "You didn't let me go! You cheated on me! You slept with another woman! You betrayed me! You did the one thing you knew I couldn't forgive." She screamed, her voice carrying through the plantation. She was crying again now, big sobs that shook her tiny frame as Wade floundered, caught between wanting to help her and not wanting to make things worse than they already were. "I trusted you." She sobbed as he finally pulled her down into his lap, wrapping his strong arms around her as he held her close letting her fist her hand around his familiar flannel shirt.

"I know." Wade sighed as he rested his chin on the crown of her head. "I know."

She was still crying he guessed as he felt her tears soaking through the front of his shirt, his skin damp as she snuffled miserably against his chest. Her tiny hands were clutching his plaid shirt, her cheek pressed against it as she breathed in his familiar earthy smell, the Wade-ness that she'd missed so much. The flannel against her skin soothed her, calming her as her sobs became hiccups which melted into deep shuddering breaths of the balmy Alabama air. His hands were still upon her as she lay curled up in his lap, one hand rubbing a soothing pattern on her back, the other brushing the smooth exposed skin on her calf. It felt so natural. It felt so right.

But she was still so angry.

Raising her eyes to meet his; Zoe felt all her anger wash away. His eyes were dark but not with desire, with pain and a mixture of other emotions she couldn't decipher. They were wet, his eyes red rimmed as he watched her struggle with what had happened between them. He'd hurt himself too that night. Not just her. In that moment she knew why he'd done it.

Fear - it was the only thing that drove Wade Kinsella from her. She knew that now.

Her lips were brushing his, testing him, waiting to see what he would do. He didn't respond; frozen in the chair as she leaned in again. She pressed her lips to his this time, teasing him as she ran her tongue along his bottom lip. Her body was pressed tightly against his now as her hands raked his mussed up blonde hair. Still he did not move. "Wade?" She asked in a sultry voice as she pouted at him.

He seemed stunned, jolted from his reverie as she said his name. "God Zoe! No!" She shook his head, trying to push her off him and pull her back in at the same time.

"No?" Zoe repeated incredulously as she stumbled backwards away from him.

"No I won't let it happen like this." Wade said more softly, his eyes drawing her back in as he looked up her sadly. "You're drunk. You'll only regret this in the morning and I'll be left alone again."

He looked like a lost little boy, Zoe thought sadly as she watched him, and he was she supposed. The way he looked at her now she could see how losing his mother had hurt him. He was alone in the world, abandoned by everyone who was meant to have loved him and cared for him. He had a hard shell that was tough to break through but when she did, it was to reveal a heart so big it was too much for them to handle. His emotions were all over the place, scattered so far and wide that she struggled to pick up the pieces. He didn't know how to control his feelings, so used to keeping them under lock and key. "I won't regret this Wade. I want this." Zoe said simply as she approached him. She didn't elaborate because now was not the time for the talk. The one they would have eventually.

Now was the time for his lips to come crashing against hers, their hands caressing and reacquainting with all the parts of each other's bodies they had so desperately missed these long and lonely weeks. She pushed him back against his chair, straddling his lap as he pulled her flush against him, his hands already working the clasp of her bra underneath her shirt. "God I missed you Zoe." He breathed as she tugged impatiently at the hem of her top, pulling it off over her head as he slipped her bra down her arms and tossed it under the table. His own shirt was open now, a few of the buttons popping off in the process as she ripped the fabric from his shoulders, desperate to feel skin on skin. Their lips were still locked together, tongues teasing, taunting as the passion between them grew. Sliding his hand underneath her skirt Zoe gasped, feeling him tug her panties down her legs as he shucked his pants and boxers down to his ankles. Zoe pressed a hard kiss against his mouth as she slid onto his length and shuddered as familiar waves of pleasure coursed through her.

"I missed you too." Zoe gasped for breath as they moved together swiftly. Her skin was becoming clammy, her hands sticking to his shoulders as she grasped for purchase. It felt so good to be close to him again; close enough to feel his breath on her collarbone, to breathe in his cologne, taste the saltiness of his sweat and tears under her lips as she brushed them tenderly across his temple. His hands were on her back now, hugging her tightly to him as they rocked slowly together. Neither of them lasted very long, the anticipation of this night too great for either of them to really savour it.

Lying in his arms, now nestled in amongst the sheets of his bed, Zoe sighed. She could feel his chest pressing against her back, his arms still tight around her waist as though he was unwilling to let her out of his reach even as they slept. Their feet were tangled together, intimately. Zoe knew she was in over her head again, her mind running scenarios at a hundred miles an hour until she felt him move, his chin on her shoulder as his lips brushed her ear incredibly softly. "I love you Zo." She heard him murmur as he cosied down behind her. She tensed, rolling over so she was facing him. His eyes opened slowly, panic stricken.

"You thought I was asleep, right?" She whispered, making out the tiniest of nods in the darkness. For a moment they lay watching one another, playing chicken with their feelings. "But you meant it?" She asked, again in that shy doubtful voice.

"Yes." Wade breathed, tempted to shut his eyes as he allowed those three little words to ring true for the first time in his life.

Her lips softly capturing his was enough to assuage his fears. "I love you too." She murmured as she traced his lips with her finger, a single tear trickling down her cheek. "and I forgive you…but I can't forget."

His hand sought hers in the darkness. "And I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you."


End file.
